Re: [Usability] Re: RFP: File chooser user interface

[Magnus Bergman <magnus bergman observer net>]

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:05:14 +0100
Calum Benson <Calum Benson Sun COM> wrote:

> On Mon, 2003-09-15 at 17:20, Magnus Bergman wrote:
> 
> > It has come to my knowledge that there is a minority of users who
> > make heavy use of the auto completion feature. So I've been that
> > convinced that it must stay. But I'd like it to be disabled by
> > default (so the tab key works as expected).
> 
> Agree the Tab key ought to work for navigation by default, but there
> are ways to do auto-completion without without using the Tab key, e.g.
> like it's done in most browsers' address bars these days.  Not
> suggesting that's necessarily the way to go, but having
> hidden/advanced features in something that should be as simple as a
> file dialog sounds a bit scary to me :)

Yes, I find it scary too. But but apparently some people uses the tab
completion feature very much (and that is tab completion, not
completion in general), and think it is safe to assume that they will be
very pissed if it goes away. People who doesn't use it probable doesn't
type in the paths anyway (but rather use the mouse). My first idea was
to use alt-tab for auto completion instead (like in midnight commander),
but since many people are used to windows they use that combination for
cycling windows. But maybe it turns out that those who use tab
completion and those who are used to windows are tho non overlapping
groups, one can only hope =)

I still think it would be best disabled by default and a way to enable
it in gtkrc.